xtended from Memphis to
Chattanooga, the eastern from Chattanooga to Atlanta, the southern
from Atlanta to Jackson, Mississippi, and the western, by a network of
roads, from Jackson to Memphis. The great East Tennessee and Virginia
Railroad, which has not inaptly been called "the backbone of the
rebellion," intersected this parallelogram at Chattanooga. Thus it
will be seen that to destroy the northern and eastern sides of this
parallelogram isolated Beauregard, and left East Tennessee, which was
then almost stripped of troops, to fall easily before General Morgan.

So important was this destruction of communication deemed by those in
power, that it was at first intended to reach both sides, and destroy
them by armies; but the distance was so great that the design of
destroying it in this manner was abandoned.

However, just at this time, J. J. Andrews, who was a secret agent of
the United States, and had repeatedly visited every part of the South,
proposed another method of accomplishing the same object, by means of
a _secret_ military expedition, to burn the bridges on the road, and
thus interrupt communication long enough for the accomplishment of the
schemes which were expected to give rebellion in the southwest its
death-blow. He first made the proposition to General Buell, who did
not, for some reason, approve of it. Afterwards he repeated it to
General Mitchel, who received it with more favor.

Our division was at this time lying at Murfreesboro', repairing some
bridges that had been destroyed, preparatory to an onward march
further into the interior. All at once, eight men were detailed from
our regiment--four of them from my own company. No one knew anything
of their object or destination, and numberless were the conjectures
that were afloat concerning them. Some supposed they had gone home to
arrest deserters; others, that they were deserters themselves. But
this last idea was contradicted by the fact that they were seen in
close and apparently confidential communication with the officers just
before their departure, as well as by the character of the men
themselves, who were among the boldest and bravest of the regiment.
Many supposed that they were sent into the enemy's country as spies;
but the idea of sending such a number of spies from the privates in
the ranks was so obviously absurd, that I did not seriously consider
it. However, I was not long to remain in uncertainty, for an officer,
who was an int