DETAILS on the HEARTSILL MANUSCRIPT

This is a highly readable, realistic, and entertaining historical work that in all likelihood is a novel.  The author served in a Tennessee cavalry unit during the Civil War and after the war was living in Arkansas, where this manuscript was discovered several decades ago.  Apparently he moved there after the war and remained in the state the rest of his life.  The work bears up well as a vivid Civil War account of life in East Tennessee, Virginia, and western North Carolina during the war, where most of the events are set.

The following is a breakdown of the chapters.

Introduction (pp. 1-5):  Briefly recounts his early life (born 60 years before this work in East Tennessee) and states he joined the 5^th Battalion of Tennessee Calvary, Company E, on 12 August 1861.  On April 22, 1862, appointed Chief of Police for East Tennessee, with rank of Captain, in which capacity he eventually met Jo J. Cox, the chief protagonist.  Reminiscences about the war, his comrades, friends, and events.

Chapter I (pp. 7-13):  Opens with 1862 notice to Heartsill that J. J. Cox has been confined to prison for desertion, which notice is rapidly followed by an escape, a recapture, and yet another escape from Castle Thunder.  Cox’s wife is introduced into the story.  General remarks on Cox’s character and reputation and the frustration his escape caused authorities.  Cox fades into the mountains, where he blends with the local folks, until again confronted at a family’s cabin by six men seeking to arrest him.  By a subterfuge, Cox and his companion kill four of them and eventually release the other two.  Eventually recaptured and returned to Castle Thunder.

Chapter II (pp. 15-24):  Confined to the “Condemned’s Cell,” the most secure area of Castle Thunder.  Cox an object of curiosity.  Effects his escape using a prison insider and other conspirators to obtain a wax impression of his cell key that is provided to a machinist, who makes a duplicate for Cox’s use.  After drugging the guard, Cox escapes using the key.  He cannot be found.

Chapter III (pp. 25-33):  Cox reappears unrecognized several weeks later at Richmond’s American Hotel, from which he emerges impeccably dressed in a cavalry uniform and makes his way to the post commander’s office, General J. B. Winder, to whom he announces his true identity.  Negotiates an unusual parole with Winder, allowing him liberty within the city limits.  Cox begins to cultivate others whom he knows he will need to eventually secure his total release and also begins serving in the local military hospital as a nurse.  [Winder is apparently based loosely on Confederate General John H. Winder, commander of Confederate prisons east of the Mississippi.]

Chapter IV (pp. 35-45):  Three months later Cox’s parole is revoked and he is re-arrested so that he can be executed under the terms of his original sentence for desertion.  On his way back to his unit, Cox and his five guards lay over at Bristol, Tennessee, where the officer in charge of him is persuaded to let him have one last meal at his own house with his wife.  Despite all precautions, Cox vanishes from the house during the meal.  Heartsill leaves for the scene to assist in the hunt for Cox and summons E. Travis Johnson to assist him.

Chapter V (pp. 47-54):  Introduction of Johnson, who had earlier assisted Heartsill in a hazardous mission to spy on Union incursions into the area.  On that mission, the two managed to get so close to Union headquarters that they overhead the entire battle plan for conquering Cumberland Gap, Tennessee.  Further relations of Heartsill’s adventures with Johnson, who served as a spy and ferret in many cases, sometimes betraying “Unionists” in the area.  Johnson’s story here ends on October 1, 1863, when he rejoins his regiment.

Chapter VI (pp.  55-70):  Johnson, in disguise, joins Heartsill on the train.  Arriving at Bristol, they interview the captain of the guard and a detective, neither of whom have any word about Cox.  Heartsill’s wife, Mattie, introduced at great length into the story—a pleasant, beautiful woman who loves her husband.  Heartsill conducts a lengthy interview with her and carefully examines of the Snapp Mansion, where the escape occurred, but can come to no conclusion about how Cox escaped.   Prepares to return frustrated to Knoxville.

Chapter VII (pp. 71-80):  Two editorials in the Richmond Enquirer report on a proposed amnesty by Jefferson Davis to all Confederate deserters; the paper comments specifically on Cox’s case and says the amnesty should extend even to him.  Cox’s wife inquires about the truthfulness of the matter.  Cox boards a train, is recognized by one Vaughan, who places him under arrest.  Cox escapes from the train and the next day boards another, now disguised as a wounded soldier on his way to the Richmond hospital.  Upon arriving at Strawberry Plains, Cox drops his disguise, is recognized by Vaughan, who again attempts to arrest him.  After a brief chase, Cox is recaptured but released to Captain Levi of the Louisiana Tiger Rifles.  Captain McCampbell orders Cox bound and has him transported to Heartsill’s office in Knoxville, where the two finally meet.  Heartsill accompanies Cox to jail but requests that while confined he spy on Colonel Fry and 12 other Federal officers arrested as spies for stealing The General.  [The engine, which still exists, is the one involved in the Great Locomotive Chase of 1862, after a band of Union spies led by James J. Andrews seized it; many of the conspirators were hanged but the group comprised the first men ever to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.]

Chapter VIII (pp. 81-93): Heartsill visits General Bruckner to inquire about the status of another condemned deserter, J. W. Wolf.  General remarks on the careers and characters of Wolf and Cox.  Davis’s amnesty is declared officially and both men are freed.  A few days later in Bristol Heartsill is entertained by Cox and his wife, who show him how the escape from the Snapp Mansion was accomplished.

Chapter IX (pp. 95-110):  Cox recites for Heartsill’s satisfaction the story of his life up until that point.  Born in Paducah, Kentucky, and reared by his mother.  As a young man, leaves her house and goes to New Orleans, where he associates with the underworld and is eventually arrested on a serious charge.  Enrolls in the Army when the Civil War breaks out, but leaves his regiment against orders and joins the Louisiana Tiger Rifles.  Court martialed for desertion but before the verdict is delivered, Cox is recruited for a spy mission to Washington, DC, with three other volunteers.  Their mission complete, three, including Cox, are captured and sent to prison.  Eventually sent to Fort Delaware, where he languishes eight months before escaping by floating down the river.  Rejoins what is left of his old company, now decimated by losses, but is promptly arrested as a condemned deserter.  (Here Cox’s story is now up-to-date.)  Heartsill inquired what Cox knows about the death of Captain Miller, killed by his own men, who suspected him of arranging Cox’s arrest in the first place.  Cox has a theory but no real information to share.

Chapter X (pp. 111-119):  Knoxville evacuated on 25 August 1863, with Heartsill left in charge of the remaining troops, who would withdraw when the Union army entered the city.  Is visited later by Cox’s wife, who informs him that Cox is again in Castle Thunder, having been arrested for breaking and entering.  She reveals that one of the apparent thieves had given her some of the stolen goods to keep for him, which she unwittingly did.  When they were discovered, they were the pretext for Cox’s arrest.  She reveals that she is in town with a petition to President Davis to secure Cox’s release.  Upon examination of the petition, Heartsill discovers it to be forged by Cox’s enemies to entrap him further.  Heartsill, after burning the document, reassures her he will look into the case.

Chapter XI (pp. 121-131):  Heartsill investigates Cox’s arrest and discovers that he has been turned over to the military authorities by the Bristol civil authorities on the trumped-up theft charge.  After failing to secure Cox’s release from prison by intervening with the military authorities, Heartsill hires an attorney who secures his release and transfer back to the civil authorities in Bristol.  Heartsill has Cox report to prison in Bristol the next morning, cautioning the Captain at the prison to keep the prisoner’s identity secret.

Chapter XII (pp. 133-145):  Heartsill asks to be relieved of his duties and reports to General Longstreet at Greenville, Tennessee, where he is commissioned a “scout” and sent behind enemy lines on reconnaissance.  His situation becomes perilous when Osborne’s Scouts, with whom he was to rendezvous, advance beyond his position, causing hordes of people to flee past him.  Stops at James Sharpe’s house, where he is confronted by a Federal patrol, the commander of which fails to recognize him and, believing him to be a Union sympathizer, lets him alone.  Makes his way back towards Nashville, stopping at an old Confederate soldier’s house for directions.  Eludes an ambush and finally stops for the night, only to discover that in the light of day the woods in which he is hiding are only a small patch of trees.  Arrives at Marysville, where he discovers the identities of numerous “Unionists.”  After various other adventures, he ends up at General Breckenridge’s headquarters in Abingdon.

Chapter XIII (pp. 147-158):  Cox (who it is revealed later has again escaped from prison)  and Heartsill join up with Osborne’s Scouts on 18 May 1864.  The troop is unsuccessfully ambushed by Federal troops in Dandridge, but the troops pursue them so closely that they disperse and regroup at a rendezvous point.  Meets up with Cox in Jonesboro, where Cox is arrested again on the old, now-dismissed charge of desertion.  Cox escapes and pursuit is futile.  His wife recounts that she gave him his pistols, which Heartsill had given to her after Cox’s arrest, as he fled past the house.  Heartsill is suspected of collusion but it cannot be proven.

Chapter XIV (pp. 159-170):  Osborne’s Scouts go on another mission in East Tennessee.  They surprise John Thornhill’s Federal scouts at a farm house, and after killing some of their number in the skirmish, capture Thornhill, who proves to be an old friend of Osborne himself.  Thornhill escapes that night.  On patrol the next day, Osborne discovers Dave Fry, who is captured by Heartsill after a brief chase.  Attempting to return with Fry through the advancing Federal forces, they become cut off.  Managing to escape, they succeed in handing Fry over to General Vaughn.  Osborne is mortally wounded in a skirmish and dies two days later in Jonesboro.  Recounting of Osborne’s services and names of the men who served under him.

Chapter XV (pp. 171-176):  Osborne’s Scouts scatter after his death, but are reformed after Jenkins is elected commander.  Cox gets permission to go to Bristol, where he is promptly arrested again.  To the astonishment of the commander, Cox removes his own handcuffs on a dare, but is nevertheless recuffed and sent to Salisbury, North Carolina, for confinement.  Heartsill cannot gain his release; General Vaughn says that one Mr. Sovereign, a prominent citizen, is insisting that Cox be confined.  On patrol, Heartsill intercepts a wagon, the driver of whom is found to have treasonable letters from Southern citizens, one of whom is Sovereign.  Upon this revelation, Vaughn attempts to obtain Heartsill’s release.

Chapter XVI (pp. 177-186):  Further adventures of the scouts as they are pursued by Federal troops.  Norman, one of their company, dies heroically in face of overwhelming odds.  Hotly pursued and with all passes blocked, they make their way across the mountains to North Carolina, where they rejoined General Vaughn.  In a conversation with Vaughn, Heartsill is told that when he sought to procure Cox’s release, he was informed that he had escaped months before, whereupon Heartsill informs Vaughn that Cox has been with his scouting unit under the name of John Stone.  Details of Cox’s escape revealed.  Heartsill and the scouts ordered to stay to assist Vaughn. 

Chapter XVII (pp. 187-199):  Vaughn withdraws to North Carolina, leaving Heartsill and others to watch and report on the advancing Union army.  He and several others are trapped by Federal troops at a house but escape after a desperate fight, which Heartsill describes as the worst of his career during the Civil War.  Several days later at the scene, Heartsill and Cox take final leave of each other.  Heartsill’s unit surrenders at Washington, Georgia, and is paroled on 12 May 1865 as part of Company B, Third Tennessee Calvary.  Cox opens an eating establishment in Knoxville, Tennessee, but quarrels with African American Union troops stationed there.  He leaves but shortly after his departure several of these troops are discovered floating in the river with their throats cut by Cox, who dies shortly thereafter in a cholera epidemic.  Final fond reminiscences of Cox’s character and service.