Huntsville
Mitchel authorized him to take twenty-four men, secretly enter the
enemy's territory, and, by means of capturing a train, burn the bridges
on the northern part of the Georgia State Railroad, and also one on the
East Tennessee Railroad where it approaches the Georgia State line, thus
completely isolating Chattanooga, which was virtually ungarrisoned.

[Illustration]

The soldiers for this expedition, of whom the writer was one, were
selected from the three Ohio regiments belonging to General J.W. Sill's
brigade, being simply told that they were wanted for secret and very
dangerous service. So far as known, not a man chosen declined the
perilous honor. Our uniforms were exchanged for ordinary Southern dress,
and all arms except revolvers were left in camp. On the 7th of April, by
the roadside about a mile east of Shelbyville, in the late evening
twilight, we met our leader. Taking us a little way from the road, he
quietly placed before us the outlines of the romantic and adventurous
plan, which was: to break into small detachments of three or four,
journey eastward into the Cumberland Mountains, then work southward,
traveling by rail after we were well within the Confederate lines, and
finally the evening of the third day after the start, meet Andrews at
Marietta, Georgia, more than two hundred miles away. When questioned, we
were to profess ourselves Kentuckians going to join the Southern army.

On the journey we were a good deal annoyed by the swollen streams and
the muddy roads consequent on three days of almost ceaseless rain.
Andrews was led to believe that Mitchel's column would be inevitably
delayed; and as we were expected to destroy the bridges the very day
that Huntsville was entered, he took the responsibility of sending word
to our different groups that our attempt would be postponed one
day--from Friday to Saturday, April 12. This was a natural but a most
lamentable error of judgment.

One of the men detailed was belated, and did not join us at all. Two
others were very soon captured by the enemy; and though their true
character was not detected, they were forced into the Southern army, and
two reached Marietta, but failed to report at the rendezvous. Thus,
when we assembled very early in the morning in Andrews's room at the
Marietta Hotel for final consultation before the blow was struck we were
but twenty, including our leader. All preliminary difficulties had been
easily overcome, and we wer