The Abingdon Virginian. [volume], October 17, 1862, Image 1

About The Abingdon Virginian. [volume] (Abingdon [Va.]) 1849-1883

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All dues to the office may be remitted by mail,
In good and available Bank notes, at the risk of
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The Military Exemption Act.
The following is a copy of the Exemption
Act, as finally passed by both Houses of Con
gress : .-„.,.
A Bill to exempt certain persons from mili
tary service, and to repeal the act entitled
"An act to exempt certain persons from en
rolment for service in the army of the Con
federate States," approved the 21st of April,
1862.
Invalids, Officers of Government, Clerlcs.ctc.
1. The Congress of the Confederate Slates
of America do enact, That all persons shall be
held unfit for military service in the field, by
reason of bodily or mental incapacity or im
becility, under rules to be prescribed by the
Secretary of War, the Vice Presidentof the
Confederate States, the officers, judicial and
executive, of the Confederate and State Go
vernments, including postmasters appointed
by the President anil confirmed by the Senate,
and such clerks in their offices as are allowed
by the Postmaster General, and now employ
ed, and excluding all other postmasters, their
assistants and clerks; and, except such State
officers as the several States may have declar
ed, or may hereafter declare by law to be
liable to militia duty: the members of both
Ilnuses of the Congress of the Confederate
States, and of the Legislatures of the several
States, and their respective officers; all cl«rks
noWTvTthe offices of the Confederate and State
governments, authorized by law, and receiv
ing salaries or fees.
Volunteer Troops.
- All volunteer troops heretofore raised by
any Suite since the passage of the act enti
tled "An act further to provide for the public
defence," approved April 10th, 1802, while
such troops shall be in active service under
State authority, provided that this exemption
Bhall not apply to any person who was liable
to be called into service by virtue of said act
of April 16th, 1862.
Transportation and Telegraph Companies.
All pilots and persons engaged in the mer
chant marine service: the president, superin
tendents, conductors, treasurer, chief clerk,
engineers, managers, station agents, section
masters, two expert track hands torach sec
tion of eight miles, and mechanics in the ac
tive service and employment of railroad com
panies, not to embrace laborers, porters and
messengers: the president, general superin
tendent' and operators of telegraph compa
nies, the local superintendent and operators
of said companies not to exceed four ; h num
ber at any locality but that at the scat of go
vernment of the Confederate States; the pre
sident, superintendents,, captains, engineers,
chief clerk and mechanics in the active ser
vice and employment of all companies engag
ed in river and canal navigation, and all cap
tains of boats, and engineers thereon em
ployed."
Editors, Printers and Preachers.
One editor of each newspaper now being
published, and such "employees as the editor
or proprietor may certify upon oath to be in
dispensable for conducting the publication;
th,e public printer, and those employed to per
form the public printing for the Confederate
and State Government; every minister of re
ligion authorized to preach according to the
rules of his sect and in the regular.discharge
of ministerial duties.
Religious non-Combatants. '
All persons who have been and now are,
members of the Society of Friends and the
Association of Dunkers, Nazarenes, and Men
nonists, in regular membership in they 1 res
pective denominations, provided, members of
the Society of Friends, Nazarenes and Dun
kers, shall furnish substitutes, or pay a tax of
$500 each into the public Treasury.
Physicians.
All physicians who now are and for the
last five years have I in actual practice of
Shoemakers, Tanners, etc.
All shoemakers, tanners, blacksmiths wagon
makers, millers and their engineers, mill
wrights, skilled and actually employed as
their regular vocation in the said trades,
habitually engaged in working for the public
and whilst so actually employed; provided
gaid persons shall make oath in writing that
they are so skilled and actually employed at
the time as their regular vocation in 'one of
the above trades, which affidavit shall only bo \
prima facia evidence of the facts therein
crated.
A Proviso against Extortion.
Provided further, That the exemptions
herein granted to persons by reason of their
peculiar mechanical or other occupation or
employment not connected with the public
service shall be subject to the condition that
the products of the»labor of such exempts, or
of the companies and establishments with j
which they are connected, shall be sold and
disposed of by the proprietors at prices not
exceeding seventy-five per centum upon the
cost of production, or within a maximum to
be fixed by the Secretary of War under such
regulations as he may prescribe; and it is
further provided that if the proprietors of «ny
such manufacturing establishment shall be
shown upon evidence to be submitted to and
judged of by the Secretary of War fo have
violated, or in any manner evaded, the true
intent and .spirit of the foregoing proviso, the
exemption therein granted shall be no longer
extended to them, superintendents or opera
tives in said establishments, but they, and
each and every one of them, shall be forth
with enrolled under the previsions of this
act, and ordered into the Confederate army,
and shall in no event be exempted therefrom
by reason of said manufacturing establish
ments or employments therein.
Hospitals, Asylums, &c.
All superintendents of public hospitals,
lunatic asylums, and the regular physicians,
nurses, and attendants therein, and the teach
ers employed in the institutions for the deaf,
dumb, and blind. In each apothecary store.
now established and doing business, one
apothecary in good standing, who is a practi
cal apothecary.
Wool, Cotton, and Paper Manufactures.
Superintendents and operatives in wool and
cotton factories, paper mills, and superinten
dents and managers of wool carding ma
chines, who may be exempted by the Secreta
ry of War, provided the profits of such es
tablishments shall not exceed seventy-five per
centum upon the cost of production, to be de
termined upon oath of the parties, subject to
the same penalties for violation of the pro
visions herein contained as are hereinbefore
provided in case of other manufacturing and
mechanical employments.
Educational Exemptions.
All presidents and- teachers of colleges,
academies, schools, and theological seminaries,
who have been regularly engaged as such for
two years preceding the passage of this act.
AYtisans Employed on '"Government
All artjpana, nrech»nics?a»d employees in
the establishment of the government for the
manufacture of arms, ordnance, ordnance
stores, and other munitions of war, who may
be certified by the officer'in charge thereof, as
necessary for such establishments; also all
artisans, mechanics, and employees in the es
tablishments of such persons as are or may
be engaged under contracts with the Govern
ment in furnishing arms, ordnance, ordnance
stores, and other munitions of war, saddles,
harness, and army, supplies, provided that
the chief of the ordnance bureau, or some
ordnance officer authorized by him- for the
purpose, shall approve of the numbers of the
operatives required in such establishment:
all persons employed in the manufacture of
arms, or ordnance of every kind by the seve
ral Slates; or by contractors to furnish the
same to the several State Government?, whom
the Governor or Secretary of State, may
certify to be necessary to the same, all per
sons engaged in the construction of ships,
gunboats, engines, sails, or other articles ne
cessary to the public defence under the direc
tion of the Secretary of the Natty: all super
intendents* managers, mechanics, and miners,
employed in the production and manufacture
of salt, to the extent of twenty bushels per
day, and of lead and iron, and all persons en
gaged in making charcoal for making pig and
bar iron, not to embrace laborers, messen
gers, wagoners and servants, unless employed
at works conducted under the authority and
by the officers or agents of a State, or in
works employed in the production of iron for
the Confederate States.
Stock Raisers.
One male citizen for every 500 head of cat
lie, for every 250 head of-horses or mules,
and one shepherd for every 5.00 head of sheep,
of such persons as are engaged exclusively
in raising stock, provided there i.< 4no white
male adult not liable to military duty engag
ed with such person in raising said stock.
Overseers on Plantations.
To secure the proper police of the country,
one person either as agent, owner, or overseer
on each plantation on which one white per
son is required to be kept by the laws or ordi
nances of any State, and on which there is
no white'male adult not liable to do military
service, and in States having no such law one
person, as agent, owner, or overseer on each
plantation of twenty negroes, and on which
there is no white male adult not liable to
military service, and, furthermore, for ad
ditional police for every twenty negroes on
two oi-more plantations within five miles of
each other, and each having less than twenty
negroes, and. on which there is no white male
adult liable to military duty, one person, ne
ing the oldest of the owners or overseers on
such plantations.
Special Exemptions.
Also, a regiment raised under and by au
thority of the State of Texas for the frontier
defence, now in the service of said State,
while in such service; and such other persons j
as the President shall be satisfied on account |
of justice, equity, or necessity, ought to be i
exempted, arc hereby exempted from military i
service in the armies of tho Confederate'
States; provufed that the exemptions herein
above enuraeiiated shall only continue whilst
the persons exempted are actually engaged' in
their respective pursuits or occupations.
2. That the act entitled "an act to exempt
certain persons from enrolment for service in
the armies of-tne Confederate States," ap
proved the 21-st of April, 1862,' is hereby re
pealed.
The Campaign in Virginia.
Our Army~-L's Great Deeds — lts Trials, its
Sufferings, and its Perils in the Future.
[CorrespGudeftJlpwf-tthe Savannah Rep?fblicansf
Win'oukstbr, Va., Sept. 26.
My condition is-such as to render it impos
sible for me to rep da the army for th* present.
I was not prepared' for the hardships, expo
sures and fastings the army tias encountered
I since it left the Rappahannock, and, like
many a seasoned campaigner, have had to (
"fall out by the. way." Indeed, I can recall i
no parallel instance in history, Except Napo
leon's disastrous retreat from Moscow, where
an army has ever done more marching and j
fighting, under such great disadvantages,
than General Lee'a£has done since it left the !
banks of James river. It proceeded directly :
to the Rappahannock, aad moving out from
that river, it fought its way to the Potomac,
crossed the stream, jand moved on to Freder
icktown and Hagerstown, had a heavy en
gagement at Boonsbwo' Gap, and another at-j
irCramptou Gap, bVlfiw. fought the greatest
pitched battle of the,war at Sharpsburg, and*
then recrossed the Pptomac baak into Virgin- ,
ia. During all fh'iiji time, covering the full
space of a month, the troops rested but four
days! And let it always be remembered to
their honor, that of/the men who performed
this wonderful feat, one fifth of them were
barefooted, one-half i.f them in rags, and the
whole of them hai flam is bed. The country
from the Rappahaun>>ck to the Potomac had
been visited by the enemy with fire and sword,
stnd our transportatiun was insufficient to keep ;
the army supplied from so distant a base as-
Gordonsville ; and wjhei*\the provision trains
would overtake so pressing were
the exigencies of--tsj|Klpesith>n, the men sel
dom bad time to difficulties were
increased by the fact that their cooking uten
sils, in many cases, trad been left behind, as
well as everything; else that Would impede
their movements. It was not unusual to see
a company of starving men have a barrel of
diour distributedt&.them, which it was utter
*l y impossible fSrfrhwri to*convert- into bread, •
with the roeans-nsftdNtJle time allowed to them.
They could not procure even a piece of plank
or a corn or fiour sa«sk, upon which, to work
up their dough.
Do yotrwonder, then, that there should have
been stragglers from the army ? That brave
and true men should] have fallen out of line
from sheer exjianstiuu, or in their efforts to
obtain a mouthful to eat along the roadside?
Or that many seasoned veterans, the conquer
ors fn tho Valley, at Richmond and Manassas,
should have succumbed to disease and been
forced back tothe hospital? I look to hear a
great outcry raised against the stragglers.—
Already la»y cavalry men and dainty staff
officers and quartermasters, who are mounted
and can forage/: the country for something to
eat, are condemning the weary private, who,
notwithstandig his body may bo covered with
dust and perspiration, and his feet with stove
bruises, is expected td trudge along under his
knapsack and cartridge box, on an empty sto
mach; and never to turrraside for a morsel of
food to sustain his sinking limbs. Out upon
such monstrous injustice! That there has
been unnecssary straggling is readily admit
»ted; but in a large mfiority of cases the men
have only to point to their bleeding feet, tat
tered garments, and gaunt frames, for an an
swer to the unjust charge.
No army on this continent has ever accom
plished as much or suffered as much, as the
army of Northern Virginia within the last
three months. At no puriod during the first
revolutionary war— even at Valley Forge
—did our forefathers iy arms encounter great
er hardships, or endure- them more uncom
plainingly.
But great as have been the trials to which
the'army has been subjected, they are hardly
worthy to be named in comparison with the
sufferings in store for it this winter, unless
the people of tire Confederate States, every
where and in whatever circumstances, come
to its immediate reliefs
The men mdst have clothing and shoes this
winter. They must have something to cover
themselves when sleeping, to protect
themselves from the driving"sleet and snow
storms when on duty.. This must be done,
though our friends at home should have to
wear cotton andsit by the fire. The army in
Virginia stands guard.this day, as it will stand
this winter, over every hearthstone through
out the South. ■ The ragged sentinel who may
pace his weary'rounds this winter on the bleak
spurs of the Blue Ridge, or along the frozen
valleys of the Shenandoah and Rappahan-,
nock, will also be your sentinels* my friends,
at home. It will be for you and your house
hold that he encounters the wrath of the tem
pest and the dangers of the night. He suffers
and toils and fights for you, too, brave, true,
hearted women of the South. Will you not
clothe his nakedness, then? Will you not put
shoes and stockings on hjs feet? Is it not
enough that he has written down his patriot
ism in crimson characters along the battle
road from the Rappahannock to the Potomac?
And must his bleeding feet also impress their
! mark of fidelity upon the snows of the edming
, winter ? I know "what your answer will be.
i God has 6poken through the women of the
South, and they are his holy oracles in this
day of trial and tribulation.
It is not necessary to consel violent mea
sures; but it is not expected that any person
will be permitted to accumulate leather and
cloth for purposes of speculation. The ne
cessities of the army rise up like a mountain,
and cannot, and will not, be overlooked. It
was hoped, at one time, that we might obtain
winter supplies in Maryland. This hope was
born after the army left Richmond, and has
now miserably perished. The Government
is unable to furnish the supplies; for they
are not to be had in the. country. Jf i' had
exercised a {fttle foresightjast spring and sum
mer, when vessels were ruiinitig the blockade,
tat'th cargoes of calico, linen, and other articles
of. like importance, a partial supply, at least
of hats, blankets, shoes, and tcollen goods,
might have been obtained from England. But
foresight is a quality of the mind that*is sel
dom put in practice in these days.
But whatever may be done by the people,
should be done immediately. Not one mo
ment can be lost that will not be marked, as
by the second hand of a watch, with the
pangs of a sufferer. Already the hills and
valleys in this high latitude have been visited
by frost, and the nights are uncomfortably
cool to the men who sleep upon the ground.
Come up, then, men and women of the South,
to this sacred duty. Let nothing stand be
tween you aud the performance of it. Nei- .
ther pride nor pleasure, nor personal ease and
comfort, should withhold your hands from
the holy work. The supply of leather and
wool, we all know, is limited; but do what
you can, and all you can, and as soon as you
can. If you cannot send woolen socks, send
half woolen or cotton socks; and so with un
der clothing, coats and pants. And if blank
ets are not to be had, then substitute comforts
made of dyed osnaburgs, stuffed with cotton.
Anything that wiil keep of the cold will be
acceptable. Even the speculator and extor
tioner might forego their gains for a season,
and unite. in this religious duty. If they
neither clothe the naked, nor*fee.d the hungry,
who are fighting for their freedom, and for
their homes and property, what right have
they to expect anything but eternal damna
tion, both from God and man ?
If the army of Virginia could march
through the South just as it is—ragged and
almost barefooted and hatless—many of the
men limping along, and not quite well of
their'wounds or sickness, yet cheerful and
not willing to abandon their places in the
ranks—their clothes riddled with' balls and
tb£.ir;jbjifineif's covered with the smoke of bat
tle, and sliot into tatters,'many oT them in
scribed with "Williamsburg," "Seven Pines,"
"Games' Mill," "Garnet's Farm," "Front
Royal," "McDowell," "Cedar Run," and oth
er victorious fields—if this army of veterans,
thus clad and shod, with tattered uniforms
and banners, could march from Richmond to
the Mississippi, it would produce a sensation
that has no parallel in history since Peter the
Hermit led his swelling hosts across Europe
to the rescue of the Holy Sepulchre.
I do not write to create alarm, or to pro
duce a sensation, but to arouse the people to
a sense of the true condition of the army. I
have yet to learn that anything is to be gain
ed by suppressing the truth, and leaving the
army to suffer. If I must withhold the truth
when the necessities of the service require it
to be spoken, I am quite ready toreturn home.
There is nothing new from the front. It is
reported that Jackson crossed the river at
Williamßport a few days ago to repair a road,
which he might have occasion to use, and
then returned. I see nothing, however, to
change the opinion heretofore expressed, viz ;
that the heavy work of the campaign is over,
unless McClcllan should seek us on the south
side of the river. This, some believe, public
opinion at the North will compel him to do.
It may be so; though I doubt it.
P. W. A.
The Killing of Bull Nelson.
Pull Particulars of the Affair.
Nelson's Dting Words.
We find the following particulars in regard
to the recent shooting of General Bull Nelson
by General Davis, at the Gait House, in Lou
isville, in the Cincinnati "Inquirer," of the
SOth ult.
When the alarm wa» raised in Louisville
that the enemy werfc marching m that city,
General Davis, who could not reach his com
mand under General Buell, then at Bowling
Green, went to General Nelson and tendered
his services. General Nelson gave him the
command of the city militia so soon as they
were organized. General Davis opened an
office and went to work in assisting in the or
ganization. On. Wednesday last General Da
vis called upon General Nelson in his room at
the Gait House, in Louisville, when the follow
ing dialouge took place:
General Davis—l have the brigade, Gene
ral, you assigned me, ready for servece, and
have called to inquire if lean obtain arms
for them.
General Nelson.—-How many men have
you ?
Ddf is.—About twenty-five hundred men,
General.
Nelson [roughly and Angrily.)— About
twenty-five hundred ! about twenty-five hun
dred ! By God 1 You a regular officer and
come here to me and report about the number
of men m your command. God damn you,
don't you know, sir, you should furnish me
the exact number? *
Davie.—General, I didn't eipect to get the
gtans now, and only want to learn if I could
get them, and where, and having learned the
exact number needed-, would then draw them.
Nelson (pacing the room in a rage.)— About
two thousand five hundred. By God, J sus
pend you from your command and order you
to report to General Wright, and I've a damn
ed mind to put you under arrest." Leave my
room, 9ir.
Davis.—l will not leave, General, until yott
give me an order. • .
Nelson.—The hell you won't. By God I'll
put you under arrest and send you out df the
city under a provost guard. Leave my room,
Sir. *
General T>avis left the room, and, in order
to avoid an arrest, crossed over, tiro river to „
Jeffersohville, where he remained until the -*•<!
next day, when he was joined by General
who had also been relieved by
Nelson for a trivial cause. Gen. Davis came
to Cincinnati with General Burbridge, and re
ported to General Wright, who ordered Gen
eral Dayis to return to Louisville and report
to General Buell, and General Burbridge to
remain in Cincinnati. General Davis return
ed on Friday evening and reported to General
Buell. Nothing further occurred until yester
day morning; When General Davis, seeing
General Nelson in the main hall of the Gait
House, fronting the office, went up to Gover
nor Morton and requested him to step up with
him to General Nelson and witness the con l
versation that might pass between Nelson and
hini. The Governor consented, and the two
walked up to General Nelson> when the fob
lowing took place:
General Davis.—Sir, you seemed to take
advantage of your authority the other day.
General Nelson, (sneeringly, and placing?
his hand to his ear.) —Speak louder; I don't
hear well.
Davis, (in a louder tone.) —You seemed to
take advantage of your authority the other
day.
Nelson, (indignantly.)—l don't know thai
I did, sir.
Davis.—You threatened to .arrest and send
me out of the State under a provost guard.
Nelson, (striking Davis with the back of his
hand twice in'the face.) —There, damn you,
take thati
Davis, (retreating.)— This h? hot the last of
it; you will hear from me again.
General Nelson then turned to.Governor
Morton, an* said "By God, did you come
here also to insult me ?"
Governtr Morton.—No, sir; but I was re-"
quested to be present and listen to the con
versation between you and General Davis.
General Nelson—(violently to th'eTTystand
ers.) —"Did you hear the d —d rascal insult
me 7" and then walked into the ladies' par
lor.
In three minutes General Davis returned,
with a pistol he had borrowed of Capt. Gibi
son, of Louisville, and walking towards thd
door that Nelson had passed through, he saw
Nelson walking out of the parlor into the hall
separating the main hall from the parlor.—-
The two were face to face, and about ten yards
apart, when General Davis drew his pistol
and fired, the ball entering kelson's heart, or
in the immediate vicinity.
General Nelsen threw up bofh hands and
caught a gentleman near by around the neck,
and exclaimed, "I am shot." He then walk
ed up the flight of stairs towards General
Buell's room, but sank at the top of the stairs*
and was unable to proceed further. He was -
then conveyed to his room; and when laid on
his bed requested that Rev. Mr. Talbott, an
Episcopal clergyman stopping in the house;
might be sent to him at once. .The reverend
gentleman arrived in about five minutes.
Mr. Talbott found General Nelson ex
tremely anxious as to his future welfare, and
deeply penitent about the many sins he had
committed. He knew that he must die im
mediately, and requested that the ordinance
of baptism might be administered, which
was done.
The General then whispered, "It'« all
over," and died in fifteen minutes after he was
conveyed to his room. His death was easy,
the passing away of his spirit as though the
General had fallen into a quiet sleep.
Gen. Davis immediately gave himself up fd
the military authorities, and is at the Gait
House under military arrest, to await a trial
by court-martial, which will probably be coin
vened in a few days. -
__ <«♦
Taking the Oath.
A very shrewed, sensible man, dn Maury
county,. Tennessee, who had been a strong
Union man until the Yankees got there, but
who, after that, became equally as strong a
Southern man, went to Columbia one day, and
was brought before Gen'l Negley. "Well,"
said Gen. Negley, "Mr. 8., you must take the
oath before you go home."
"Very well," said 8., "just have it boxed
up, General, and I'll take.it out."
"Oh !" said General Negley, "you don't un
derstand "me; you must take the oath to 6up=
port the Government of the United Stategj"
"Why, General," said friend 8... "I have'a
wife and several children, and it is as much
as I can do to support them. I. am* a poor
man, and I can't, think of supporting the
whole United States—that's rather too much*'*
By this time Negley became rather iirifhv
tient. "Here," said be, handing B. the print-'
ed oath, "read i.t for.ynurself."
"I can't read," said B.
"Well, then," said Negley, turning to the '
Provost Marshal, "give him a pass «hy how, •
he has no sentfe."
And thus he. went home without taking the ,
• oath, The Yankee General was outwitted'
that time. We give this incident ns vouched
for by one of the exchanged DoneUon prison
ers. * r